Covert medication
2007; Mark Allen Group; Volume: 9; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês
10.12968/nrec.2007.9.11.27420
ISSN2052-2932
Tópico(s)Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
ResumoThe practice of nurses hiding drugs in food and drink has been raised publicly by campaigner Hunter Watson, who discovered that staff in a Scottish care home had sedated his mother without consent, and had disguised drugs in her meals. Mr Watson has raised this serious issue with the Scottish Parliament. He told the BBC News at Ten (2nd October 2007), ‘It shouldn't happen. It is very convenient for staff at care homes to conceal drugs in the food and drink of residents, not for therapeutic problems but to make the residents easier to manage’. Covert medication and issues of consent have been debated by nurses and doctors for many years, it is often based on the judgement of a single nurse, and relatives may be kept in ignorance. This may be attributable to a culture of fear surrounding covert medication' (Treloar et al, 2000). However, today there are written guidelines for care home staff in Scotland stating that medication should be hidden in food or drink only when it is in the best interests of a resident, not for the convenience of staff. In England, the Commission for Social Care Inspection rules that staff may not administer medication covertly without the permission of a resident, the resident's family or representative if they are incapacitated, or a doctor who decides that unwanted medication is essential for their health and wellbeing. A doctor or a pharmacist should also be consulted to check that crushing tablets to hide in food is safe.
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